Research and Education
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Archaeology of the Great War
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Social studies |
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Archaeology of the Great War is a poignant, highly interactive website exhibiting recent archeological discoveries from the Argonne region in eastern France, where French and German troops engaged in trench warfare during World War I. The French Ministry of Culture and Communication, in conjunction with French archeologists, archivists, and university faculty, created this website to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the war. During the 1990s, a team of archeologists excavated the former battlefield, unearthing new clues about daily life and death during World War I. Visitors can view these archeological finds alongside archival photographs from the War. This material is helpfully organized into five chapters, which include thoughtful annotations about the significance of these new discoveries. Archeology of the Great War is a powerful resource about the experiences of WWI soldiers, and also demonstrates the role of archeology in recovering new insights about the past. Note: while the text of this site is available in French, English, and German, a few embedded videos are only in French. [MMB] |
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Kitsap Regional Library: Kitsap History
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Social studies |
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In 1942, Bainbridge Island was the first community to be impacted by President Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066, which incarcerated over 100,000 Japanese-American citizens in internment camps for the duration of WWII. Approximately 272 Japanese-American residents of the island were evacuated and interned. At this time, Millie and Walt Woodward edited and published the island community's newspaper, The Bainbridge Review. In contrast to the majority of U.S. press at the time, the Woodward's paper editorialized against internment and reported on the forced evacuation of Bainbridge citizens and their experiences in camps. Today, the Kitsap Regional Library on Bainbridge Island, in collaboration with the Bainbridge Historical Society and numerous volunteers, has digitized issues of this newspaper published between 1941-1946. Issues are organized by topics that may be of interest to contemporary readers (including "Exclusion," "Camp News," and "Letters to the Editor") and readers can also search the archives for select keywords. This archive provides excellent insights and primary sources regarding both Japanese-American internment and the history of the U.S. press. [MMB] |
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Virology Down Under
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Health |
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The Virology Down Under blog strives to provide "info[rmation], opinion, and a reasonable voice on viruses." The authors, Ian Mackay and Katherine Arden, provide regular summaries (complete with clearly annotated graphs) of newly published scientific studies related to virology that are designed to help those outside of the scientific community understand new findings and their significance. The most recent posts address the Zika virus, but readers can also explore indexed articles about Ebola, Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and Avian Influenza (H7N9). In addition to clearly summarizing new findings, the authors also openly discuss the limitations of new scientific studies - for instance, much research about the Zika virus relies on reported cases of the virus rather than test results. In summarizing recent studies, both authors openly acknowledge their opinions and perspectives, and also note when a subject is less familiar to them. [MMB] |
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Chalkdust
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Mathematics |
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As the authors proclaim: "Chuckdust is a mathematics magazine. It is not a journal, and it's not a textbook." Although authored by a team of UK-based math educators and mathematics/physics doctoral students, Chalkdust is not narrowly intended as a research or curricular resource. Instead, the magazine (available both online and by subscription) includes short articles, brainteasers, and biographies of famous mathematicians. Visitors can read about how "stopping distances" for UK roads are incorrectly calculated, learn about different etymological systems for naming large numbers, and consider how mathematical equations might be employed to keep tea at a perfect temperature. The site also contains puzzles, interviews, and math humor. While not explicitly intended as a teaching tool, Chalkdust contains activities and tidbits of math trivia that would provide fabulous warm-up and supplemental activities in a mathematics classroom. [MMB] |
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On This Day in Chemistry
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Science |
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The Royal Society of Chemistry runs Learn Chemistry, an educational website designed for both educators and students. This site includes thousands of lesson plans, laboratory activities, worksheets, online quizzes, and links to additional resources (check out the 11-15-2013 Scout Report for a description of the full site). One of the many useful features of this website is the On This Day in Chemistry page. Here, readers can check out 366 historical chemistry tidbits, one for each calendar day. These tidbits include the births of famous chemists, major inventions and breakthrough discoveries, and important chemistry developments in governmental research and the academy. One can read about the opening of the first nuclear power station (June 27, 1954), the discovery of the electron (April 30, 1897), and the first use of xerography (October 22, 1938). Each On This Day entry is accompanied by Related Resource links, which bring readers to texts and videos related to each day's topic. [MMB] |
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Digital Humanities Quarterly
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Educational Technology |
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Over the past couple of decades, humanities scholars have identified various ways to use technology to archive, analyze, and share content relating to the Humanities - including English literature, history, and art. The Digital Humanities Quarterly is a free, peer reviewed journal published by the Alliance of Digital Humanities Organizations (ADHO), an international consortium of Digital Humanities organizations. Now in its ninth year of publication, the journal publishes scholarly articles, book reviews, and the occasional editorial addressing such issues as student experience and the digitization of epigraphy. Readers will also find a complete special issue about comics (which includes an article by Nicholas Sousanis, who wrote his dissertation at Columbia Teacher's College as a 125-page comic with citations), and another special issue about feminism in the digital humanities. [MMB] |
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Edge Effects
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Science |
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In the field of ecology, "edge effects" refers to the special characteristics that can be observed on the edges of two adjacent habitats, an area that often supports a richer variety of foliage and animal life due to the merging of each habitat. Fittingly, Edge Effects is a digital magazine created and run by graduate students at UW-Madison's Center for Culture, History, and Environment (CHE) dedicated to fostering richer discussion about environmental studies through promoting multi-disciplinary voices. Contributors include scholars of Geography, History, English, Art History, and Zoology, among other disciplines. Edge Effects publications are divided into five categories: long form essays; commentary on recent news items; reviews (contributors review not only books, but also music, movies, and children's literature); exhibits (including a photography exhibit of the Mississippi River, map collections, and poetry); field notes (which include notes on teaching and conferences); and checklists (thematic lists that make for delightful quick reads). Readers can browse by these categories or browse the most recent entries on the site's homepage. [MMB] |
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